I have been on Lipitor for the past 2 years and it has brought my cholesterol down to 250, was over 400 I think.

My doctor gave me Vytorin at my last visit and told me to try that. has anyone had any success with it? I haven't begun taking it yet. Is it better/worse than Lipitor?

Don't know about better or worse but it is different since it combines a statin (Zocor) with another drug, Zetia (not a statin) in one regimen. Adding Zetia to the mix might impact your numbers for the better. It inhibits absorption in the intestine.

I just did a search on the net and came up with a Dr.s blog where he muses that the ads that have been appearing in the media for Vytorin make it sound like a "license to eat" anything you want. I sort of agree with him.

I've seen the same ads, but i still eat as healthy as I can. My doctor subscribed it because high chlstl runs in our family.

My brother has had great results with Vytorin. His HDL is up considerably higher than it was on Zocor and niacin. He took Crestor for a short time with negative results. The side effects were very bad and it took quite some time for him to recover.

I take a combination of 10mg zetia and 10 mg lipitor and the benefits of adding zetia was obvious and consistent. Zetia is the non statin ingredient in Vytorin.

Hmmm,
I've been on Lipitor for a zillion years, and this possting is making me think of possibly throwing some zetia into the mix. Next stop: my favorite PRICING site!<fingers crossed>

edit: Uncrossing fingers and sighing: $72 a month. No way, Jose!

Lenin,

Never mind about the Zetia. We have a big snowstorm heading our way today. Like me, tomorrow morning you can grab that shovel and bump up that HDL some more. :D :D

Lenin, too bad i cant send you mine. I have six months of zetia in my spare medicine bag. My gp gave me samples and i stopped using zetia after severe side effects.

Ohhh, jtu,
THank You that is SOOO, tempting but alas we are not allowed to communicate.

ARIZONA,

I am working up a sweat right now looking down on the snowplows going round and round my driveway. It made me so pooped to watch I had to pull up a comfortable chair and a delicious beverage! One of the joys of paying too much rent:D!

"Beulah, Peel me a grape!"

Lenin,

I just came in from shoveling snow (corner lot with a double driveway!). Sure could have used your help. Oh, my aching back! :(

I hated zetia and lipitor. My cardio gave a script for niaspan, but haven't taken it yet.If they stop with the diurectic scripts, i wouldn't have high cholesterol.

In my opinion, niacin is still the best. :)

Arizona, is niaspan the same as niacin?

If they stop with the diurectic scripts, i wouldn't have high cholesterol.

Could you elaborate on this please? I have high cholesterol and was recently prescribed a diuretic to lower my blood pressure, which it has.

Ward, all i know is that hctz caused my glucose and cholesterol to rise. I never had a cholesterol problem until five or six yrs ago when a well meaning nurse practioner prescribed hctz to control my bp.

I didn't know that was happening until one day at the dr's office i was reading a mag. called Diabete's Interviewer. In the article it listed bp meds and their side effects. It stated that thiazides (hctz) raises glucose and cholesterol. I asked my dr and he played it off. Well i stopped taking hctz for two or three months and my a1c dropped from 10.9 to 7.5 and my cholesterol dropped from 337 to 243. I didn't need to change my diet or exercise regimen. This just proves that some bp meds cause more diseases .